Operation FreeSoul Mentors Young Poets On The Business Side Of Art

Operation FreeSoul poets Khaya "Khalypso" Osborne, Yeshahya "King" Yisrael, David "AndYes" Loret de Mola, and Alex Cuevas performed their spoken word on Insight before their SELF KARE show at Yisrael Family Farms in Sacramento.

Cody Drabble / Capital Public Radio

Operation FreeSoul is a program that teaches young spoken word artists about the business side of performing. It’s run by David Loret de Mola, a spoken word artist who performs under the stage name AndYes, who recently became Grand Slam Champion of Sacramento. The project earned a Sacramento Creative Economy Grant last fall. Loret de Mola launched the project by mentoring three local poets: Khaya Osborne (a.k.a. “Khalypso”), Alex Cuevas and Yeshahya Yisrael (a.k.a. “King”).

They joined Insight host Beth Ruyak in studio on July 23 to talk about the project and share some of their poetry.

Watch Loret de Mola and his three mentees perform in the Insight studio: